Like Water for Chocolate opens with a Mexican proverb as the epigraph, the words highlighting the plight of women as caregivers: “To the table or to bed. You must come when you are bid” (2). By beginning with this idea, Laura Esquivel roots the story in the roles that women play in society. The archetypal structure of the “Virgin’s Promise” features a protagonist who makes a vow to her community or family to refrain from sex, her chastity viewed as a sacrifice for the greater good. This promise often finds the female character forced to live up to unrealistic expectations and to exist in a perpetual state of repression. Mama Elena forces Tita into a virginal promise, upholding the family tradition of the youngest daughter remaining unmarried. Tradition forces Tita into a cycle of abuse. She is also coming of age as the Mexican Revolution rages across the land. The author layers Tita’s rebellion against her mother’s authority with the country’s sociopolitical uprising. Through both struggles, the author exposes the dangers of repressing natural desires.

Repression of desire begins with repression of the body. Just as soldiers are physically kept at bay by weapons, Mama Elena wields a sword of shame against her youngest.